I had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of Let’s Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan, courtesy of St. Martin's Publishing, in exchange for my honest review.

This book was undeniably cute. At first, I was apprehensive - I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy a story that starts with the main character, Juliana, experiencing a panic attack on her first day of work. Without much context in the book description, I was worried this would dominate the story. However, I was pleasantly surprised as the narrative quickly moved beyond that moment, evolving into something deeper and more engaging.

Enter Ben—Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Within a matter of paragraphs, he became a character I loved so much to one I couldn't stand. He won me back in the end, but it was a long and winding road there.

While I ultimately enjoyed the story, I often found myself frustrated with Juliana. Her grudge-holding and lack of understanding contrasted sharply with Ben’s endless patience, which left me wishing for more character growth or a positive shift in her perspective by the end. That said, her behaviour was not entirely out of nowhere, given her struggles with grief and moving on from a lost love, as well as navigating dating as a parent of two young children.

The office rivalry and love/hate dynamic reminded me of Lucy Score’s The Hating Game. It was quick, addicting, and full of playful tension. However, Juliana’s lack of empathy toward the end held me back from fully falling in love with the story.

I gave this one 3.5 / 5 stars.

If you’re a fan of lighthearted romantic dramas with a touch of workplace shenanigans, Let’s Call a Truce might be just what you’re looking for. You can grab your copy today!

3.5 stars

I appreciate the opportunity to have read this story in advance! While I enjoyed 'Let's Call a Truce', I didn't love it. The story started off strong with a single working mom, workplace tension and a good slow burn. I was all in for the adversaries to lovers and romance after heartbreak tropes, but I just couldn't like or relate to Juliana past what we had in common as mothers. The 'feud' between her and Ben struck me as incredibly juvenile and not in a fun/lighthearted as I'm sure it was meant to be. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationships that Juliana had with her daughters and her friend group. They were what helped the story be more dynamic. I glossed over the third act break up because I felt it was unrealistic just plain toxic for Ben and his family. Additionally, the book had two very different tones for the first and second parts of the story and I would have preferred a bit more balance in the narrative.

This was a fun, fairly straight-forward enemies to lovers with a healthy dose of workplace romance. What sets it apart is that both leads are dealing with really unique, although not THAT unique (but unique for romance novels) situations with their previous partners. One is a widow with children and the other was walked away from by their ex and mother of their child together. This combination leads to lots of hesitation, some guilt and oh, surprise, surprise, a third act appearance by someone. I’ll let you guess who.

Lots of hot and heavy scenes during the few moments when the leads get over all of their pettiness and hesitation. A fun read.

“These truces are going to be the death of me.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5+ stars
Spicy Meter: 5 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Touches on tough topics like losing a partner, parent abandonment, and mental health struggles. Contains sooo much explicit sexual content.

“Let’s Call a Truce” follows Juliana Ryan, who is rebuilding her life after unexpectedly losing her husband while juggling work, motherhood, and a bitter feud with her arrogant but undeniably charming colleague, Ben Thomas. What starts as mutual disdain softens when they are forced to collaborate on a high-stakes project, sparking an unexpected connection. As their professional rivalry transforms into a passionate romance, Juliana must decide if she’s willing to risk her heart again—especially when Ben’s past jeopardizes their fragile happiness.

2025 is starting strong with this one. A spicy and twisty enemies-to-lovers is exactly what I needed this January. Ben Thomas is the new universal book boyfriend, of that I’m sure. Juliana Ryan is relatable and quick on her feet. There were so many turns in this read that I truly didn’t expect, but absolutely loved (and loved to hate). And let’s not even talk about how spicy it is, I’m blushing after just thinking about it.

If you’re a fan of Sally Thorne’s “The Hating Game”, then this work-place, enemies-to-lovers romance has been literally written for you. “Let’s Call a Truce” will be my new go-to romance recommendation.

ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: January 14, 2025

I had a mixed experience with this book but overall I still think it’s a good read. The first third was tough for me because I struggled with Juliana’s behavior. As a widowed single mom, I expected her to be more mature but her workplace pettiness and constant tallying of arguments with Ben felt unrealistic and exhausting. I get that Ben hurt her feelings but after years of holding onto that resentment, her immaturity was hard to root for.

However, once the story shifted into the middle third I found myself enjoying it much more. I started to understand Juliana and Ben better as characters and their budding romance felt more heartfelt. I also loved how the author explored grief and the complexity of blending two families. The family dynamics—both between Juliana’s and Ben’s daughters and the main characters—were one of the strongest parts of the book. They felt thoughtful and realistic and added so much depth to the story.

The third act breakup was unexpected and dramatic and while it was well-written, the quick resolution didn’t fully land for me. Given Juliana’s hesitance to even be open about their relationship, the way things wrapped up felt a little rushed. That said, I appreciated the care the author put into depicting loss, healing and moving on after losing the love of your life both as a partner and as a parent.

I laughed, I cried and while I struggled to connect with Juliana at first, I did come around to her. If you enjoy books about second chances and older characters navigating realistic challenges, this is worth picking up. It’s a heartfelt story with a lot of emotional depth even if some moments didn’t quite work for me.

3.5 stars. I liked it but didn't love it. Amy has a great voice and I enjoyed reading it but the impact of grief on both Juliana and her daughters felt incomplete. We would see Juliana refer to her grief but never really working through it. Amy created an A+ MMC in Ben...up until the conflict and then it felt, despite everything we've been led to believe about Ben, poof- gone.

I'll absolutely be on the lookout for what Amy does next. Thank you to SMP for the opportunity. All thoughts are my own

I'm not typically an enemies to lovers girl but Amy Buchanan might have turned me. I loved this "grown" romance so much. There’s just something about a FMC that has kids and has experienced life that just hits different and this one was done so well. Juliana and Ben's rivalry kept me laughing in the beginning and their struggles kept me invested the rest of the way. I found myself siding with both sides of the story and Buchanan did a great job of showing both perspectives. I thought this story was multifaceted: thoughtful, had depth, while tackling themes of grief and abandonment. I only had a few minor misses in this story like Ben calling Juliana "baby”. It was making cringe but that's just a personal preference.

Definitely pick this up if you like:

Enemies to lovers
Work place romance
FMC widow with children
Open door
Love of Boston (partial setting)
Found family

Overall this was a 4.5 star (rounded to 5 stars for Goodreads) read for me! Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this early in exchange of an honest review. I can't wait to read whatever Amy Buchanan writes next!

Well this book was an absolute treat! I opened it with the intention of only reading a little bit just to get a feel for it and a few hours later i've finished it! yikes!!

The banter, the angst, the whole rivalry and arguing....i loved it!

if you're looking for fast paced that takes you through all the emotions then this is the book for you

Highly recommend!

Thank you, St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley, for my eARC of Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Let's Call a Truce is a second chance romance where we're following Juliana and Ben, coworkers and enemies-to-lovers. The book takes place over the course of a few years when they're forced to work together, sparks fly--until the past threatens to tear them apart again.

I liked the premise of this one -- after all, enemies-to-lovers is my jam!, and I flew threw it. There were just a few things that didn't work for me. I didn't feel the chemistry between these two as much as I'd have liked to. They had good banter, but it felt more than "playful between lovers" to me. It felt it was just written in that they were now into each other.

The breakup and resolve felt like it was phoned in, no matter the character's reasoning, and it didn't make it seem believable.

There were some heavy undertones in the book -- the husband has died, and there are other themes and issues that are brought up throughout the book -- but they're handled well.

Overall, though, if you like second-chance at romance books with some open-door scenes and inclusions of single parents, check this one out!

Thanks, St. Martin's Griffin!

Thank you SMP Romance for my #gifted ARC and thank you Macmillan Audio for my #gifted AL of Let’s Call a Truce! #smpromance #macmillanaudio #MacAudio2024 #LetsCallATruce #AmyBuchanan

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐀 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐞
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐀𝐦𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐧
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

This was an absolutely adorable and steamy debut by author Amy Buchanan!

Quick Summary: After her husband dies unexpectedly, Juliana is forced to go back to work to support her children. Her new (attractive) colleague, Ben, feels she is a liability as a single parent, and Juliana sets out to prove him wrong!

Juliana was such an amazing FMC and I loved her from the very start. I thought she was such a strong character to deal with everything she went through and I just loved her and her character. This book had so much humor and the best banter too! The feud between Ben and Juliana was something else, filled with so much tension. Buchanan is an amazing writer and I look forward to reading whatever she writes next!

💕Enemies to Lovers
💕Workplace Romance
💕Second Chances
💕He Falls First
💕Open Door Romance
💕Single Parent
💕Debut Novel

🎧I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Charlotte North. North did such a fabulous job bringing this story to life. I always love listening to books narrated by North, and this was no exception. This one was absolutely perfect on audio and I would highly recommend listening to this one on audio if that option is available to you!

Posted on Goodreads on January 15, 2025: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around January 15, 2025: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on January 15, 2025
**-will post on designated date

I loved this one so much. I have such a girl crush on Juliana Ryan. She’s an incredible mother and brilliant manager and a kickass friend. She doesn’t stand for anyone’s shit and honestly, she was too good for Ben 😆 that’s the only reason I’m giving it 4.5!!!

Loved this book so much. Thank you for the early access!

🤝Let’s Call a Truce by @amybuchananbooks
⭐️ 4.5/5
🌶️ 3/5

“You deserve to be taken care of sometimes. To get to enjoy what you love without having to take care of everything. I’d like to take care of it for you, if you’ll let me.”

Juliana, a widowed mother of two, has been at odds with her colleague, Ben, for two years after overhearing a hurtful comment about her work ethic and her children. When they are unexpectedly paired together for a company project that could secure Juliana a life-changing promotion, the two are forced to set aside their differences and work together.

This workplace romance strikes the perfect balance of realistic problems, humor, banter, and spice. Amy Buchanan does a brilliant job of addressing sensitive issues, adding emotional depth to both Juliana and Ben. I especially appreciate the unexpected twists that added layers of complexity to their relationship, making their growth even more compelling.

Amy’s debut novel is a hit! I look forward to reading more from her in future 🥰

Tropes
🤝Workplace Romance
🤝Enemies to Lovers
🤝Single parent
🤝Anxiety rep
🤝HEA

TW
🖤Loss of spouse (off page)
🖤Parental abandonment

I enjoyed reading Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

Let’s Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan is such a warm, relatable story that pulls you in from the very first page. It’s about second chances and mending relationships, but it’s also about finding yourself along the way. The characters feel so real, like people you know or want to know, and their struggles and triumphs really hit home. It’s equal parts heartfelt and funny, with just the right amount of emotional depth. If you’re looking for a story that will leave you feeling hopeful and smiling, this one’s definitely worth picking up.
I’d like to try listening to the audiobook not only because I enjoyed the story but because I love the narrator, Charlotte North 🫶 I wouldn’t mind revisiting the story so soon 😊

WOW!! This was an incredible debut!!!
Ben was so perfectly imperfect (and reminded me so much of my Ben)!
Juliana was so real and the chemistry was amazing from the very first interaction.
I love that the MCs are older and have life experiences that they had to deal with it. It was so real!!
I want to compare to The Hating Game because of the workplace enemies to lovers similarities, but this was just so much better - and I loved THG!!

Rating: 4.5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This book is perfect for book lovers that like the following tropes: Workplace romance, Enemies to lovers, Single mom/single dad, he falls first, second chance romance, great chemistry with the characters and great banter. This book is about Juliana, whose husband has passed away and is back to working full-time. She loves her job and is excited to work there until she meets Ben. Yes, he is attractive and when she hears hurtful words about her from Ben, because she must leave work to handle a situation with her kids, she is determined to have nothing to do with him. Until the day that she is forced to work with Ben on a career-making project, when other feelings other than anger start to show up. Will her nemesis end up being her knight and shining armor?

I really liked this contemporary romance, with it being a workplace romance and all the right feelings to go with it. I found the plot to be something fun, but at the same time the author did handle topics like grief, death, abandonment and being a single parent very well. I can’t believe this is a debut book, because the way that this author writes, she knows how to keep her readers engaged throughout the book, giving us what we need and want in a contemporary romance. I found this book to be fast-paced, and I honestly couldn’t believe that I finished it in one day, because I couldn’t put it down. I also liked that the twist that the plot took was needed because let’s be honest when you have children everything changes, and I could understand that being a former single parent. I found the characters to be well developed, and the side characters were great.

I enjoyed getting to know Juliana, you can see that she loves her children and understands what is needed to make sure that their lives are not just turned upside down. I liked the fact that she was understanding, fierce when it came to her children and friends, and she understood that she needed time for herself. I liked that she was flawed, that made it easier for me to connect with her characters and to understand her better. I loved the banter that Juliana and Ben would have at work and outside of work and can we talk about that chemistry between those two… it was written so well that it had me screaming silently. For Ben, at first, I didn’t like him but the more that I got to understand his character, he started to grow on me. I soon found myself swooning over things that he would say to her and the things that he was doing to her… HOT!! There was a 3rd act breakup but the way that the author handled it I could completely understand and didn’t mind at all.

I received the audio for this book as well and I found Charlotte North to have narrated this book so well. I liked the fact that she helped to bring the characters to life, and I felt as though I was watching the scenes happen rather than just reading about it. I would recommend this narrator to all my bookish friends and of course this book.

I want to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s and Macmillan for the opportunity to review this book.

3.5 stars! This was such a charming read. I love an enemies-to-lovers romance, and LET'S CALL A TRUCE was a great new take on the trope. Juliana and Ben had such strong chemistry from the get-go, but their connection was also handled in a beautifully nuanced way. Both characters have their own struggles that affect how they approach the relationship, and Amy Buchanan tackles the heavier topics (like grief and abandonment) with so much depth and care. Beyond the dynamic between our leads, I also loved reading about their relationships with their family and friends, especially their children—I haven't read many Single Mom/Single Dad romances, so I really liked that aspect of the story as well. It was so sweet to see not only how Juliana and Ben supported each other and really lifted each other up, but also how they had such a strong support system around them in other ways. The one thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the third-act breakup (this seems to be sort of a common theme with me and some of the romances I've been reading lately, lol), although I did understand why it was done in the way that it was! If you are looking for a heartfelt, heartwarming romance from a debut author to watch, definitely add this book to your TBR. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I really think that this is going to be one of the best romances of 2025 and I'm so happy and lucky that I got to read it in 2024! This romance was an absolute delight. Everything from the writing to the characters to their delicious (and hot!) tension was everything I look for in a romance book. I don't think I realized how much I needed a romance where the characters were in their 30s and where the main female character is a single mom with two kids. As someone who has two children I can absolutely relate to a lot of the conflict in this book. At it's core, this book is a workplace romance where the two start off "hating" each other and gradually fall in love.

I adored this and had trouble putting it down. Watching the two of them fall in love and become a family was an absolute joy. I will say the third act nearly broke me but the happy ending was lovely and so so needed.

Thank you so much to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early and gush about it weeks before it comes out. You wont want to miss this!

I loved this spicy romcom! The workplace tension, the love/hate witty banter, the spicy scenes, the forced proximity...all was chef's kiss! I loved the single dad, single mom storyline. Learning how to navigate grief and learning to love again was so well done. It's scary to take a step into love again after losing a spouse, and it was so well done.

Workplace romance, kinda second chance romance, instalust, jealous mmc, widowed mom, adorable kids, forced proximity, plot twists

I am so upset that it took me this long to pick this book up. I flew through this book, switching between the audio and ebook.

While I cannot personally relate to Julianna’s story as I am not a single mother, I was able to be able to feel every emotion she was during the story. Also, the woman deserves a vacation.

This is maybe a spoiler, but I have to discuss it, so skip this paragraph if you don’t want to know something. Ben having a daughter, and it being Juliana’s child, was so funny. Ben makes very good points about why Juliana shouldn’t be upset about not knowing anything about him, she was very vocal about not wanting to know anything about his life, so why would he tell her anything.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for an early read and listen for this book. All thoughts are my own, I do not accept money for reviews.